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After sending away both Galfredik and Romari to the villa, Eugene visited the mercenary guild with the slaves. He had already made an appointment early in the morning with the guild’s head through the Palin Association, so Eugene was guided to the office immediately upon arrival.
“I should have been the one to visit you. Thank you for coming, Sir Eugene.”
“Not at all. Ah, this armor has proved very useful. It helped a lot during the recent subjugation. So I have to thank you.” Eugene tapped his armor while speaking to the guild’s leader, Trevik.
“I’m glad to hear that. If the symbol of our city can shine a little brighter thanks to Sir Eugene’s great achievements, we should be grateful instead. I am certain the mayor will be glad as well.”
“Perhaps. But I think the mayor might be a little troubled instead this time around.”
“What?” Trevik responded in a puzzled voice. He still hadn’t heard the stories regarding Mount Morrison Labyrinth subjugation.
“Well, here’s the thing
” Eugene gave a quick recount of the subjugation. Of course, he made sure to leave out the details of what happened between Galfredik and Lugates. “
So I ended up capturing three of their knights. Still, I treated them honorably and provided them accommodation in the Heavenly Constellations. They appeared quite satisfied.”
“I-I see. Well then.”
Trevik had experienced his fair share of adventure and hardships. However, Eugene managed to exceed all expectations with his every action. Trevik could not help but inwardly shake his head.
‘But to think that Sir Galfredik would join him. And there was even a wizard to boot
’
Galfredik was known to be as ambitious as his outstanding skills. It was a great surprise to hear that the ambitious knight had been hired by Eugene, alongside a wizard.
“Then, Sir Eugene, do you perhaps want to return Evergrove’s knights through me or the mayor?” Trevik asked. Although he spoke carefully, he had accurately grasped the crux of the situation.
Eugene nodded in response. “That’s right. I already notified their soldiers of the ransom. But come to think of it, I thought it could create a misunderstanding with Lord Evergrove.”
“A misunderstanding
?”
“My armor. The county’s successor, Young Master Jevin, asked me about it, and I told him it was a gift from the City of Maren.”
“Hmm.”
Trevik stroked his rugged chin. A duel between knights was a common occurrence, but the problem was elevated to a different level when not one, but three territorial knights were beaten and captured by a single knight.
Moreover, the capturing knight had been wearing armor with the symbol of Maren, and the captured knights belonged to one of the ‘real’ lords of the surrounding areas. There weren’t even five others in the vicinity capable of rivaling the Evergrove County.
Trevik sank into thought, and Eugene threw a pitch he prepared in advance. “I’ve set the ransom as 300 for each of them, so if you could return them in my stead and make the trade, I will donate 200. I am hoping you could let the mayor know that I would like it to be used for the city.”
“Ohh.”
Trevik was delighted, and it wasn’t simply because of the donations.
‘This means he wants to maintain a relationship with our city, right?’
Eugene was no longer just a slightly renowned knight but considered one of the strongest knights in the area. Moreover, he was accompanied by Galfredik, a famous powerhouse, as well as a wizard.
It could only be beneficial for Maren City to maintain a harmonious relationship with Eugene. There was nothing to lose.
“All right. Then I will convey your will to the mayor. Please leave it to me.”
“Right. If anything comes up, you can contact the Palin Association.”
“Okay.”
The two shared a handshake, and Eugene stood up from his seat before leaving.
Thud.
Trevik stuffed his pipe with tobacco and lit the fire after the door closed.
“Phew! He’s no longer just a strong knight. Now, he knows how to use influence and authority.”
Other knights were blinded by their desire to show off their skills and to make achievements. They were blinded by their pride and honor. But Eugene was different from them. Trevik had seen the stark contrast between those knights and Eugene in his meeting with him today.
He was well aware that knights like Eugene appeared once in a while, and such knights most definitely went on to become something else.
“We already live in such a chaotic era, but a new lord might be born sooner or later.”
Trevik had a strong hunch that the rising star would not be an unimportant landowner without a title, but a real lord – one who would seize land and a title with their own hands.
***
Four days later, a carriage carrying a small chest arrived at a small villa located just outside of Maren. The vehicle was escorted by mercenaries. After transferring the item directly to Eugene, the coachman and mercenaries returned, and Eugene opened the box.
Surprisingly, there were gold coins inside the chest.
“Guaah! I can’t see because of the blinding light! My eyes! My eyes!”
The spirit of desire collapsed, feeling dizzy after taking in the glorious sight. She had been doing nothing but stuffing her face with food and sleeping in the past few days.
The mercenaries and slaves reacted in the same way. It was their first time to see so many gold coins. Their eyes were fixated on the loot and their mouths were agape with shock.
“Imperial gold coins. Master Jevin must have been really ticked off. Haha!”
Galfredik laughed while looking at the coins, “Really? Is there a problem with imperial coins?”
“Not really, except that imperial gold coins are subjected to exchange fees. Even if it’s the same price, you will have to pay about 5% extra in tax. If you don’t want to pay, then you have to use it in the empire.”
“Quite petty for the successor of a county.”
“Kuhaha! Count yourself lucky that he didn’t send an assassin. A knight was killed and three were beaten and captured. How disgraceful would it be to send a ransom, let alone get revenge?”
“It’s not like I was the one who killed him.”
“Don’t be like that. We’re basically family now, right? Anyways, Slave One, Two, Three. Move this.”
“Yes, Sir Galfredik.”
Galfredik was gradually filling in his role as a vassal. He naturally relieved Eugene in giving insignificant commands, and the slaves moved busily at his words.
***
“We have no excuses, Young Master Jevin.”
“Phew
 That’s fine. You sirs only acted out of loyalty because of my unnecessary words. By the way, was that person really that strong?”
“I have never been so helpless in front of anyone except for my master. His sword techniques were great too, but his strength was unmatched.”
“When I heard stories of him pulling out a troll’s head, I never believed it. But it seemed true after I faced him directly. It was truly a daunting experience to fight him on the battlefield.”
The knights unanimously admitted defeat with their testimonies. Jevin’s expression darkened.
All of them were renowned knights with proven skills. Philton’s ancestors were renowned territorial knights of the county. He might be the weakest of the three, but he could still contribute brilliantly whenever the knights were faced with roamers and bandits.
‘How strong could he be? Not even one, but all three were
’
“Anyways, I understand. I will take care of the issues concerning Sir Eugene and Sir Galfredik.”
“Young Master Jevin, with all due respect,” Marvel carefully spoke. “I think there might have been a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Yes. After the incident, we found Sir Eugene and Sir Galfredik to be knights who are as faithful as they are brave. They knew honor.”
“It is just as Sir Marvel says. The two knights never abused us even once. They let us move around freely in Maren as well.”
“
I see.”
“Yes. I apologize for saying such things after being defeated, but they truly knew honor and chivalry. Perhaps
”’
“That’s enough. I understand. Go and get some rest.”
“Yes.”
The three knights bowed before leaving the room.
Boom!
Jevin stared at the door for a long time, then smashed his fist against the desk while clenching his teeth.
“All of them are truly getting on my nerves! Are knights of Evergrove devoid of pride and dignity?!”
Jevin burst into anger, and the servants shrank back before quietly leaving the room.
“A misunderstanding!? Ha! How ridiculous.”
It wasn’t enough that they were beaten and captured by a single knight, but they were even defending and praising their opponent. Although Jevin pretended to agree with their words to save face, his heart was filled with fury and frustration.
“I can’t just let him be. I need to retaliate somehow.”
The incident with Lugates might be kept secret, but rumors about the three knights’ defeat would quickly spread. Naturally, no one would dare openly mock the county, but just thinking about how much they would mock him behind their backs caused Jevin’s anger to boil.
“But it’s not like I can scuffle with Maren City either.”
The leader of the mercenary guild had personally returned the knights under the command of the mayor. Their actions directly reflected how Maren City favored Eugene.
Jevin could possibly raise an issue with Eugene utilizing a few influential figures of Maren who were favorable to the county, but it would take too much time, and the outcome was uncertain.
“What to do
 Ah, wait! Come to think of it, Jan Eugene is heading to the Carls Baggins Peninsula to participate in a subjugation, right?”
Jevin muttered to himself before jumping up. He scrutinized an expensive map of the kingdom. Soon, a satisfied smile slowly crept onto his face.
“This is good
”
***
“The next subjugation will take place in the Philia Ruins. It’s possible to travel there by land, but the Palin Association is offering us seats on a merchant ship,” Eugene spoke while looking around at Galfredik, Luke, and the mercenaries.
“The Philia Ruins
”
Partec tilted his head, and Galfredik stepped up.
“It is located in the Carls Baggins Peninsula. The owner of the land is
 Who is it again?”
“Baron Beogalan. He’s quite famous there.”
Eugene recounted the information he obtained from Priscilla, but all of their activities had been restricted to the local region. None of them were knowledgeable about the nobles of the Carls Baggins Peninsula.
“Has anyone here been to a ruin before?”
Partec’s group fell silent at Eugene’s words. Galfredik was the most experienced of the bunch, but even he had no experience with a ruin subjugation.
“I thought as such. I
”
“I have.”
An unexpected person raised his hand.
“Slave Number One. You have?”
Galfredik expressed his shock with wide-open eyes, and Luke nodded. “Yes. The lord of my father’s lord owned an evil land. It was the ruins of an ancient, magic city, called Black Reverence
”
“You don’t need to explain. I’m not really curious about an evil land of Brantia.”
“Yes, Master.” Luke bowed his head at Eugene’s words.
“So, what kinds of monsters did you defeat in the ruin, Slave Number One?”
“I aided in defeating skeletons, ghouls, harpies, as well as a gargoyle, an intermediate-rank monster.”
Galfredik was astonished by Luke’s answer.
“Hooh! There was even undead? The ruin in your hometown must have been pretty famous.”
“Yes. It was known as the three evil lands of the Brantia Kingdom. It was a famous, reputable place that esteemed and brave knights needed to subdue at least once to be verified. Of course, even they are nothing compared to Master.”
Luke appeared to be more loyal towards Eugene compared to even Galfredik, who was Eugene’s vassal.
It made sense, however, since Luke directly witnessed Eugene beating up the Evergrove knights like dogs. The other two slaves simply considered Eugene to be a scary knight, but Luke had been educated to become a knight in the past.
He understood his master’s strength better than the others, and his feelings of respect had long grown into awe. He admired Eugene not simply as his master, but as a warrior.
“Slave Number One also excels at flattery, hmm? Since he has experience in ruins, he should be quite helpful.”
“I will do my best not to become a burden to you, Master,” Luke ignored Galfredik’s teasing and bowed towards Eugene.
“I look forward to it. We will depart in three days. Partec, get everything we need in the meantime.”
“Yes, Sir Eugene. I will be right back.”
“I’ll tag along.”
Galfredik started leaving with the mercenaries, and Romari attempted to sneakily leave while reading the air.
“Ah! The raccoon is trying to escape into her hole!”
Mirian immediately snitched, and Eugene called out as Romari started to silently leave the room.
“You will be participating in the subjugation too, racoo
 Wizard.”
Romari stopped in her tracks and stiffly turned her head. “Me too? But Sir Eugene, I have experiments to conduct. I think it would be better for me to finish creating my chimera as soon as possible
”
“And who knows when that will be? Who prepared your laboratory? Who obtained all sorts of materials for you? How much money do you think was spent on you alone?”
“Yes, I’m looking forward to the subjugation since it’s my first time riding on a boat, Sir Eugene.”
Romari suppressed all her complaints. She had no choice but to laugh sorrowfully.
DantheMan's Thoughts
The interaction between Eugene and Trevik was a little confusing for me, but I think I understand after thinking about it. Since it would trash the Evergrove County’s honor to have three of their knights defeated & captured by a knight with no backing, having the City of Maren step in would save them face. At least, that’s how I understood it. Hope it helps!
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